Middle linebacker Jon Beason, after seeing a foot specialist in North Carolina, was ruled out of the Giants’ Sunday game against the Texans — which didn’t come as a major surprise.

But the real questions remain: How long will he be out, and how productive can he be upon his return?

Giants coach Tom Coughlin said he didn’t have a timetable for Beason, suffering from a right foot/toe issue he aggravated, and said the injury isn’t likely to go away this year.

“He’ll probably have to fight through something like this for the duration, let’s put it that way,” Coughlin said. “Here’s a guy that’s tough and gritty, and he’ll go out there as soon as he can.”

Beason, a major factor in the improvement of the Giants’ defense late last year, fractured his right foot in June, but opted for rest rather than surgery. He left in the third quarter of Sunday’s 25-14 loss to the Cardinals after feeling something “pop” in his foot.

Though Coughlin said “we have a couple of options” at middle linebacker, Jameel McClain likely will replace Beason. McClain, a seventh-year pro in his first year with the Giants, played middle linebacker virtually all of training camp and doesn’t see it as much of a transition.

“Once again, like I say every week, I expect to play linebacker, wherever they tell me to play that week is what I do,” McClain said. “Nothing is a big transition in this game, especially the way that I played it. You prepare the same way that you prepare every week the same way that I’ve always prepared. I always study all the positions. It’s not really a big shift for me.”

McClain was fined $8,268 for his late-hit on Cardinals QB Drew Stanton last Sunday. McClain said he did not hear the whistle when he plowed into Stanton.

The Giants could be catching a big break. Texans All-Pro running back Arian Foster (hamstring) is questionable after he was limited in practice on Friday. Foster has rushed for 241 yards in two games.